The Meaning of Family
by ElijahAdrian
Summary: He had been there the whole time, when she needed that shoulder or that ear. And now she is seeing him for who he is, not just as the one that listens. R&R. LEMON MARKED. :3


**Not the owner of InuYasha**

**I hope you all enjoy this little one-shot.**

Rivers ran down her cheeks from her muddy colored eyes falling off her chin onto the folded arms and knees below. Accompanying these tears were sobs that shook her form as she sat curled on her queen bed, pale skin instead of her normal parlor, and self degrading thoughts that kept running through her head. That morning she had woken up a committed twenty first century college woman and just past lunch she had found her world come crashing down around her. The shock had transferred through the phone to her best friend Sango who had called just as she closed her apartment door twenty minutes later.

The angry dojo owner had cursed and yelled and made violent claims against the hanyou in the fifteen minute conversation. Kagome had gotten her off the phone and proceeded to scrub the smell of the hanyou and his bitch from her in a scalding shower. She had never been happier to take her mother's advice and keep the small one bedroom when InuYasha asked her to move in three months ago. The door to her apartment opened and she heard the footfalls of her four best friends moving down the hallway toward her bedroom.

Ayame, Rin, Shiori, and Sango surrounded her pulling blankets away, getting out clothes and finding shoes, heating curling irons and looking through her makeup. Kagome raised an eyebrow as they all smiled at her.

"What are you guys doing?" She questioned.

"We are getting you out of this house and going to a club." Sango pulled the miko off the bed toward the table and mirror.

"Come on guys, I just got my heart broken today… don't I get like a week to mope and eat junk food?" She whined.

"Kagome, we love you but honestly." Rin patted her knee. "You had to have known that you weren't in love with InuYasha. Even if he didn't just break up with you like an honest man." Kagome gave a small nod, her eyes watering once more.

"I guess deep down I knew that he was just, there to keep me company. I stopped loving him a long time ago." She glanced at herself in the mirror, looking over her heart shaped face and thick wavy nearly black hair. She was not an ugly person but she could not see anything special about herself that would ever get her a decent man.

"So Kouga invited us to Club Lunar for drinks and dancing. Let's get you all dolled up and go have fun, forget about that man whore." Ayame put flats by the silver blouse, approved of the match then laid out a pair of dark denim jeans. She snapped her fingers and retrieved a black lace bra and panties from the dresser to go with the outfit. "Get ready we'll be in the living room."

The girls turned to look at one another as they stood in the living room waiting for their friend to come out of the bedroom. Ayame sent a message to her boyfriend in the down time to check for problems. The all clear came through as the door opened and Kagome stepped into the hallway, she smiled at the girls and grabbed her purse off the couch.

Club Lunar was closed to further entry, the bouncers unclipped the rope to let the gang of women through into the club with smiles. Kagome descended into the flashing pulsing club and out of her depressed mood. They danced to several techno beats and did half a dozen shots before Kagome slipped away from the girls and their boyfriends to find a couch along the back wall.

"Here's to being alone." She downed another shot of sake and put the glass on the table before her. Down the steps her eyes followed the tall silver haired man, he wore a jacket and dark jeans with a white shirt and black shoes. It was not the man that had cheated on her and hurt her so deeply earlier that day, but he was still close to that man.

Kouga turned around on the dance floor and cursed under his breath, he got the attention of his girlfriend and they both sighed. Sesshomaru got a drink at the bar and turned to scan the room, he was looking for someone. Miroku and Shippou went in to distract him so the girls could get Kagome out of the club. Before they reached him they gasped as the miko came to stand at the demons side.

"Never figured you for a club kind of guy." She chuckled as he turned to look her over. "What are you doing here?"

"I never figured you for the type to go clubbing when you have a boyfriend at home." Kagome sighed; it was a sound that always broke his heart. He could never fix what was wrong because she was not his to care for.

"InuYasha isn't at home this time." She took another shot. "I found him full length in my cousin on our living room floor." She glanced at the man beside her then to the men talking several feet away, who nervously turned away when she was looking. "I guess they were nervous about me seeing you, or us talking."

"They don't know that I have been there every time he has hurt you do they?" He asked.

"No, never told them, I was really hoping for this week of 'grieving' so you and I could watch movies again like the time he forgot my birthday." She laughed. "Can you believe that I never even suspected he would cheat on me?"

"I can believe that you thought he would be a decent person and leave before he would hurt you like that." Sesshomaru turned to face her with his hip against the bar, he scanned the dance floor for her friends who were watching them and muttering amongst themselves. "I'm betting they think that I will be rude or hurt you."

"Probably, you never really gave them a reason to think that we are friends." Kagome thanked the bartender for her purse and then she too turned and put her hip against the bar and looked up into Sesshomaru's face. "I'm heading home; I think I had one too many shots of sake."

"I'll take you, come on." He lead her by the elbow up the steps and out into the night air. He steered her into his black town car then instructed the driver to the apartment building. "I'm going to Osaka tomorrow morning, short flight on the company jet then a suite with two bedrooms at a five star hotel. I'm sure you would like to get out of the house, maybe get the carpets cleaned while you're away."

"Yeah, I would feel better if the apartment was cleaned head to toe, even if he didn't do it there I still feel like it's dirty." Kagome brushed her bangs from her face and leaned into the demon beside her having his arm drape over her as they headed into the city. Her apartment was several blocks west of the shrine just down the block from a market and several shops. She had chosen the eighth floor to get a better view but still be close to the ground, heights were her downfall.

Kagome went into the bedroom of her apartment and gathered outfits for the week in Osaka. She leaned into the hallway with a chuckle and heard Sesshomaru pause in his conversation with his father.

"She is going to Osaka with me tomorrow for the week, I'll make sure father. Goodnight, yes of course." He clicked his phone off and sighed. He came into the hallway and smiled at her as she held a blouse in one hand and a pair of sneakers in the other. "Father, mother and Izayoi say hello." Kagome grinned.

"Sesshomaru, what should I pack for? I mean parties or nights on a couch watching movies… I have no idea." He laughed coming down the hallway to look at her closet for an idea. As he helped her pack the neck of her blouse opened and he caught a glimpse of her black lacy bra. Kagome blushed and leaned up to find a set of pajamas to take with her. She spent the night in Sesshomaru's guest room, text her mother and best friends about her plans and asked Sango to make sure the apartment got cleaned and the locks got changed.

Check in at the hotel went fast and Sesshomaru told her to go relax at the sunroom pool for the early afternoon. Kagome leaned over the back of the couch to look at the text messages Sesshomaru was occupied with. Her hand reached out to take his cell phone only to get caught in his grip. He pulled her wrist to his mouth and pressed a kiss to the soft pale skin on the inside of her wrist.

"Are you coming swimming with me?" She whispered into his ear.

"I was planning on getting some paperwork done for the meeting I have tomorrow." He replied.

"Alright, but sometime this week you are going to swim with me." She pulled at his pointed ear before sighing and heading for the door. Sesshomaru put his cell phone down and glanced over his shoulder to see the door close. He got up off the couch and moved into his room where he changed from his business suit to his swim trunks.

With towel in hand he headed for the pool. Kagome was swimming in the deep end, her glistening black hair shinning in the sunlight. He dropped his towel by her chair and dove into the water. He swam up to her and grabbed her, laughing as she calmed down.

"I hate you." She ground out as he released her.

"No you don't." Sesshomaru waded into the deeper water where he treaded waiting on her. Kagome swam out to him and used him to keep afloat, her legs on his waist as her arms treaded. "I made an appointment for you tomorrow at the spa for a massage and a soak in the hot springs."

"That's sweet, thank you." She smiled at him. "So I should pick up some stuff to make dinner a few nights this week and of course find some movies to watch, I'm sure there will be one or two."

"Indeed." He agreed. "I think we should go out to dinner one night, so we aren't sitting in the room the whole week." Sesshomaru and Kagome swam to the ladder and got out of the water an hour or so later. "You should go shopping while I'm busy at work too. Clothes, gifts for the holidays coming up, maybe some electronics or something."

"I probably will, but I never was big on going shopping." Kagome wrapped the towel around herself and they headed for the room. Sesshomaru held his towel around his slim hips as the elevator headed up, he looked at how fit Kagome was in her bikini and at the small jewel tattoo on her left hip that turned him on. He remembered sitting next to her as the artist shaded the sphere that gentle pink color with the light glow.

"It hasn't faded."

"What?" Kagome turned her head to look at him, then glanced at her side to see what he was talking about. "I forgot about that, you know that none of my friends know about it?"

"Just like our friendship." Sesshomaru stated. The doors opened and they headed down to the room where they changed, ordered chicken fried rice and chocolates and curled up on the couch to watch an old black and white samurai movie. Kagome curled up against Sesshomaru and pulled the cover off the back of the couch to cover her legs, her eyes began to get heavy and she yawned into his ribs. He draped his arm over her from the back of the couch as her eyes closed.

He woke with the morning, feeling the sleeping woman at his side snuggle closer. Kagome was laying across the couch with one leg over one of his, laying with one arm on his hip and the other across his chest she was still sleeping soundly. He inhaled, basking in the fact that she was his for this brief moment of predawn.

"Wake up sleepy head." He rubbed her upper arm to rouse her from sleep, when that did nothing he untangled himself from the woman and lifted her off the couch, carrying her into the bedroom and covering her up so she could sleep longer. He set an alarm and put a reminder beside her cell phone before going to change for work.

Kagome woke up to the buzzing of her alarm, she glanced around and couldn't remember getting in bed the night before. She sat up and brushed her bangs out of her face then looked down at her cell phone. Beside the cell was a note paper with her appointment at the spa and the address written by Sesshomaru. Kagome got dressed and headed out of the hotel for the afternoon.

After her massage and soak she went into the dress shop a few blocks from the hotel to find an evening dress for their night out. She picked up a matching tie for Sesshomaru to wear and then she moved on to the jewelry store where she found a charm bracelet with two charms on it and a set of earrings shaped like paw prints.

Sango called when she was walking back to the hotel to tell her that the apartment had been rekeyed and the carpets had been replaced throughout. Kikyo called several times as well as InuYasha and she ignored them with little thought. Sesshomaru came back to the hotel at five thirty they ordered steak and noodles with miso soup then went out to see a play at the theater house.

"I thought the play was good." Kagome walked at Sesshomaru's side toward the hotel that evening. "So that was an early night."

"I was told to invite you to the New Year's party at my father's house." He watched her eyes fall to the ground as they walked. "I hope you accept."

"Why would I be invited to the party when I'm not really family anymore."

"They only invited the hanyou because of you." Sesshomaru wrapped an arm over her shoulders. "Plus who would I talk to at that party without wanting to kill millions of people?"

"I guess if I am invited honestly, and if you keep me company I can't really leave you to commit genocide." Sesshomaru chuckled.

Kagome woke the next morning in her bedroom tucked in her bed just like the night before with her cell phone next to the silent alarm on the end table. She could hear Sesshomaru in the living room talking to a servant and climbed out of the bed to get dressed. When she joined him breakfast was sitting on the table and he was nose deep in emails on his smart phone.

"Dinner tonight?" She asked as she ate a piece of pancake.

"You choose, I seen a box for me on the table over there." He gestured to the small table by the door.

"I got a tie that sort of matches the dress I bought for our night out." She waved it off when he raised an eyebrow. "I understand if you don't want to wear it, I mean it's—"

"No, if you took the time to pick out a tie to match your dress of course I will wear it tonight. Is it to go with a dark suit or light, so I can dress accordingly."

"I would say wear a dark suit, that way we sort of balance." Kagome watched him leave for his meetings leaving her to entertain herself for the afternoon. She jumped onto the couch and called her mother.

"Ohayo sweetheart." Her mother's sweet voice answered. "How is Osaka?"

"Nice, I love being away from the same old stuff everyday in Tokyo." She sighed. "And I'm glad to be away from InuYasha and Kikyo."

"Oh dear that's right, you haven't been home to hear the changes! The Tashio family has disowned InuYasha meaning he gets nothing. Kikyo is furious and she thinks that you influenced it." Kagome shot up on the couch at the news. "And they know where you are, and I heard her mother talking that she is heading for Osaka tonight."

Sesshomaru walked into the hotel to a stunned miko on the couch, she was trembling and he could feel the anxiety in the air. He walked to her silently, touching her shoulder making her jump. She turned with large frightened eyes and hugged him. The stunned demon wrapped his arms around her and squeezed her to let her know he was there.

"What is it?"

"InuYasha and Kikyo are in Osaka, they are looking for me because InuYasha got disowned from the Tashio family." Sesshomaru turned her face up to him and brushed the few tears off her cheeks.

"You have cried enough for that hanyou, and they do not deserve your time." Kagome nodded at him in agreement. "All that should matter is that you have so many people that care about you and that you are never alone. Hell his own mother loves you more than him." When she had stopped her tears and stepped away Sesshomaru took his gray suit jacket off and laid it on the back of the couch. "Now we have dinner tonight and I am looking forward to seeing you in that new dress." She gave a weak nod and went into her room to get dressed. She opened her closet and pulled out the cream colored dress with black laced orchids and sakura blossoms and black ribbon belt, she put on her white lace undergarments set and a chain of faux pearls and the paw print earrings.

She emerged to find Sesshomaru in his charcoal suit with the matching tie on instead of the red he had worn to his meetings. The demon looked her over before shutting down his emotions regarding the woman. He smoothed over the cream tie and smiled to the miko.

"I bought a bracelet, but I guess you wouldn't want to wear it." She handed him the small case and watched him open it to see the charm bracelet. It was gun metal colored with a paw print charm and a jewel charm on it. He clasped the metal bracelet around his large wrist and offered her his arm.

"Thank you Kagome." They headed for the town car and headed for the bay restaurant. They made their reservations at the restaurant and had gone through a whole bottle of top shelf wine.

"Come on, let's go watch a movie on the couch." Kagome wrapped her arm around Sesshomaru's and they headed for the hotel three blocks up. "Weren't you dating that Kagura woman last New Year's?"

"I was, but she wasn't my type. Honestly she was just helping me try to get the girl I really wanted." Kagome leaned against the rail in the elevator as the doors closed sealing them in alone for thirty floors.

"Oh." She whispered watching at Sesshomaru lean closer to her. "And who is that?"

"I'll give you three guesses." He pressed his lips down on hers as his arms pulled her into him. She groaned as her hands found their way into his hair, the silky texture cool to the touch. The doors dinged open and they separated long enough to walk down the hall and get into their room. Sesshomaru pulled her onto the couch where he let her straddle his lap, her dress hiking up to her hips.

"You're my best friend, and you are a great man."

"It sounds like a rejection." He brushed his thumb over her jaw as his hand rested against her neck. Kagome leaned into his touch and let her eyes fall closed.

"No I just want this to last, I don't want to rush anything and then have regrets later."

"I will never rush you when you aren't ready, and I won't let anyone hurt you again." He pulled her hand to his mouth and kissed the inside of her wrist again. "I just want to have you as mine, let me be the one that fixes the bad situations and kisses the tears away. I never want to hear you sigh again."

"Sesshomaru." She leaned down and kissed him with all her might, letting all her doubts go. Sesshomaru held her to him, letting her scent fill his senses. Kagome and Sesshomaru curled up on the couch to watch an old black and white romance.

The door to her apartment opened as she stepped out of the elevator, they had left Osaka two days early to avoid run ins with anyone that could start problems. Sesshomaru had offered to carry her bag upstairs but she had turned down the offer so he could go home and talk to the family about their relationship.

"Kagome!" Sango yelped wrapping the woman in a tight hug. "Oh my gods you look different, what happened?"

"Got two hours?" Kagome chuckled.

"Yes." Sango closed the door behind them.

Kagome told her about how she found InuYasha and Kikyo on her floor before they had taken her out clubbing. She moved on to talk about all the times Sesshomaru and her had talked because of InuYasha and how he was always helped her when she needed it. She even told her about the talk the two had had on the couch the night before and that Sesshomaru was going to talk to the family about their relationship.

"Wow seriously, you have been talking to the icy older half-brother. Why didn't you tell us?" Sango cuddled a pillow on the couch beside Kagome.

"I just never thought to, we met when InuYasha took me to the house for a party the first month we were dating. And when he insulted me and left me at his father's house Sesshomaru had been told to give me a ride home by their mothers." Kagome smiled as she touched the paw print earring on her left ear. "He is so much nicer than InuYasha, you know I bought him a charm bracelet, the new ones that are like solid metal cord with the jewels that slid on. And I got him two charms, a paw print and a jewel that looked like the one I have tattooed on my side—"

"You have a tattoo?" Sango raised an eyebrow. "I don't remember you having a tattoo."

"I got it a year ago when InuYasha went to New York and called me a bitch. Sesshomaru went with me. Anyways he actually wore the bracelet I got him, and the tie that matched my dress to dinner. Oh and when we talked he pretty much said that he wants me to be his girlfriend so that he can take care of me like I deserve."

"Well it's about time that you have someone that loves you." Sango tossed the pillow onto the cushion between them and stood up. Kagome caught sight of her hand and grabbed the fingers to touch the diamond ring. "I didn't want to tell you but I guess since you aren't very depressed… Miroku proposed last night and I said yes… I want you to be the maid of honor if you are up to helping me plan and be a crazy bitch."

"I'm so happy for you guys and I can't wait to help you guys." Kagome hugged her best friend. "You get going I'm going to get a shower and clean up my apartment… I feel like I need to clear out the shit that InuYasha left with me."

"Okay, give me a call if you want to go out tonight, Rin has a date with Kohaku and Shiori and Shippou are busy helping her mother move." Sango shrugged. "See you later."

"See ya." Kagome locked the door behind her friend and turned with her hands on her hips to look around her apartment. She tidied the books on her bookshelf then cleaned up the refrigerator and washed the dishes Sango left. She was about to get a shower when Sesshomaru came over from his father's house.

"How did Sango handle the information?" He adjusted the bracelet on his wrist as she poured his tea.

"She was a bit shocked, stunned at me having a tattoo and that we have been friends for so long." Kagome curled into the arm chair at the table and sipped from her glass of tea. "But she's happy for me and she asked me to be the maid of honor for her wedding."

"I was wondering why Miroku called me." He shrugged.

"So what did the family say?" She leaned closer to the table in anticipation.

"They are pleased that you are coming to the house for New Year's and that you have accepted me as a potential mate." Sesshomaru sipped his tea. "Izayoi is practically vibrating with excitement with seeing you in two weeks, and father has postponed all company meetings until after the holidays."

"They don't have a party for Christmas?"

"No, that is strictly a family day and they have always kept it that way." The demon smiled and leaned closer to the table as Kagome had. "They have presents under the tree for you as well."

"I have presents for them as well, nothing major." Kagome gestured to the few presents setting in the window seat under the small Christmas tree. "I've been busy today."

"I can tell, the carpet looks nice." Kagome glanced at the clock and then filled her cup with tea. "How about we go out to dinner, somewhere small and quite. Not fancy but, nice."

"Oh that sounds nice, I need a shower first."

"I can wait." He smiled. Kagome got up and put her cup in the sink. Her phone rang as she was heading down the hall and she paused to wait for the machine to pick it up.

"Kagome I know you're home dear." She picked the receiver up and greeted her mother. "I was wondering if you wanted to come to the house for dinner, Christmas is in a few days but I wanted to see you."

"Actually mom, I have plans for dinner."

"You didn't take that fool back did you?" Her mother pleaded through the phone. Kagome laughed and turned to look at Sesshomaru looking through her books on the shelves.

"No mom, but I guess we could come over for dinner, we were just going to grab a bite somewhere anyways."

"Alright dear, I'll make oden and omelets and see you when you get here." Kagome ended the call and turned to smile at the demon who had been watching her through the end of the conversation.

"Mama invited us to dinner." Kagome smiled. "I'm going to get a shower and then we can head over to the shrine for dinner." Sesshomaru nodded and watched her disappear down the hallway for the bathroom. He sat down on the couch and flipped through her copy of _The Feudal Age of Japan_ laughing to himself about the information written in them. The phone rang and went to the machine.

"You bitch I'm going to kill you for ruining the money wagon I had." The voice of her cousin came through the machine making Sesshomaru stop his reading. "Little miss I-never-want-for-anything, you better watch your back." The line ended as the shower went off.

"Kagome."

"Yeah Sesshomaru?" She called going into her bedroom to get dressed.

"How would you feel about going to stay at my house for the holiday's?" The door opened and Kagome came down the hall toweling her hair out.

"Why would I need to stay at your house for the holiday's when I just got my apartment in order?" Sesshomaru touched the replay button and watched as she stopped drying her hair as the message played. Kagome refused to let the tears fall, she deleted the message and went back down the hallway into her bedroom where she began to put her makeup on. "Let's go to dinner tonight and then after that we can come back and figure out what I will need to take with me."

Mrs. Higurashi opened the door and smiled at Kagome and Sesshomaru inviting them out of the chilly evening air. They joined Souta, their grandfather, and Kikyo's sister Keade who smiled warmly to them in return.

"Keade how is your mom?" Kagome asked across the table.

"She's good, upset with how Kikyo is acting. It's so not the way mom raised us to act." Keade shrugged. "But Kikyo was always not the way we expected her to be."

"Tell me about it." Mrs. Higurashi grumbled. "So how is University?"

"Great, I've met so many new people that I have so much in common with there." Keade told them about the nursing program and all the friends she had from there and when she was going back to campus. After dinner Kagome hugged her family and they waved as Kagome and Sesshomaru headed down the stairs to the car.

"They are very nice people." Sesshomaru remarked as they headed for the apartment.

"Until you piss them off, I wouldn't put it past mama to slap Kikyo back to her freshman year of high school." They got off the freight elevator as the regular elevator closed and started it's trip down. The door was cracked and Kagome waited as Sesshomaru went in and searched room by room to make sure no one was there.

"It was—"

"InuYasha and Kikyo." She sat on the torn couch and looked at her things, broken china across the kitchen floor, books torn and thrown around the living room, no doubt her bed torn as well. The mirror broken and her makeup thrown throughout the apartment. "I can't believe they would go to this level."

"Let's collect some important things and leave, you don't need to be under all this stress." Sesshomaru helped her pack two overnight bags of undamaged clothing and two bags of undamaged books and items she wanted to keep with her. Kagome held up the cream dress with four long slashes through it and felt the tears come to her eyes. "Kagome."

"Does he have no heart?" She whispered without turning around. "He cheated, for months with my cousin, and then he comes here and tears my things apart because he got himself disowned from the family."

"Items don't hold memories Kagome, they are inanimate and lifeless. Out memories are what we wish to recall of the past. You can choose to remember the pain he is causing with his actions or remember that you are stronger than the damage he has put around you."

"Come on." Kagome laid the dress across the bed and followed Sesshomaru out of the apartment, pulling the broken door closed behind them. Kagome stopped at the landlords apartment to inform him of the incident and that they would pay for damages to the door and walls. Sesshomaru made a call as Kagome was putting her clothes in the closet and dresser in the guest room.

"Son." His father answered sternly. "This better be important to call in the middle of the night."

"InuYasha broke into Kagome's apartment with Kikyo and tore it apart, shredded things and broke things to hurt her."

"Is she alright?" The tone changed and Sesshomaru could tell his father was genuinely worried for the miko.

"She was out to dinner with me at the shrine." Sesshomaru ran a hand through his silver hair. "We salvaged a lot of the things she really cared about, pictures and books that kind of stuff. And she packed a few bags of clothes. She's setting up in the guest room right now."

"I'll have Bankotsu deal with the hanyou." InuTashio ground out.

"I have a better idea father."

Kagome stretched out on the couch next to Sesshomaru as the news was ending. He changed the channel to one of her favorite movies and they snuggled until they fell asleep. Kagome woke up first, letting her see the demon peacefully asleep under her. She was tracing the stripes on his cheek when he stirred, catching her hand and kissing her palm before opening his eyes.

"Ohayo." His rough voice sent chills down her spine and into her belly. Kagome could feel his morning erection against her hip. Kagome found her body heating up at the thought. She pulled herself loose and went to use the bathroom as he too got up to get ready.

The apartment had been looked over and documented by the detectives called by Sesshomaru. The door was replaced and her things that were still useful were hauled away to storage. After her report Sesshomaru and she went to the mall to replace the items that were destroyed.

"What are we looking for?" Sesshomaru asked at her side.

"I need to replace the gifts I got for InuTashio, Inumimi, and Izayoi. And all the other gifts that they ruined." She picked up a teddy for Sango and Miroku, a new set of jewel making accessories for Shiori, and headphones for Shippou. At the dress shop Kagome bought a lace choker for Inumimi and a lace armband for Izayoi. Sesshomaru helped her pick out a pair of bamboo pens for InuTashio that had his name carved into them. Finally she paused in the food court and smiled at the demon accompanying her.

"What?"

"Get some food and wait here, I'm going to pick up your gift. I ordered it a while we were in Osaka." She kissed his cheek and disappeared through the crowd leaving him to find food and wait for her return. Kagome kept glancing behind her to make sure that he was not following her. Satisfied on her second trip around the mall she finally went into the store. She bought a set of lingerie and handcuffs, then she carried her black bag further down the mall to the second store. She bought a dog collar and tag carved with his name on it that she ordered from Osaka.

She hoped that Sesshomaru would be into these gifts when she gave them to him. She picked up a tie with the print of Sesshomaru in his inu form and headed back to the food court with her purchases all tucked into one blue bag. After scanning the tables and not seeing the silver hair she dialed his number and waited for him to answer.

"I'm in the restaurant across from the food court, just sat down actually." Kagome joined him for lunch. After they made it back to the house Kagome tucked his gifts away in the bedroom and went into the living room to wrap the others. Sesshomaru helped her get them wrapped and they headed for the Tashio estate.

"Kagome!" Inumimi wrapped the miko in a hug pulling her into the house as Sesshomaru held all the presents. Izayoi joined them as the gifts got put down and InuTashio came home just as dinner was being served.

"It's lovely to see you Kagome, still beautiful. Honestly I don't know what you see in my offspring." He laughed. "How is Sesshomaru treating you, not boring you to death is he?"

"No, we actually spend most of our down time watching old movies and talking."

"That's lovely, I'm so happy you are with us." Izayoi grinned. "I was worried when that fool hurt you that we wouldn't see you again."

"I didn't think you would want to see me, I mean…"

"Kagome, you are like a daughter to us, and when Sesshomaru finally convinces you to mate with him you will be. I never want you to feel put out around this place, and I want you to call me father, when you feel comfortable with it."

"Thank you."

Kagome lay awake Christmas Eve thinking about her present to Sesshomaru. The tie would be a good gift for him to open in front of the family, but she hoped he didn't think that it meant she only thought he needed things to go around him neck. The collar was the hardest sell, she would have to get him to agree to be handcuffed before she could put it on him.

The next morning Kagome got dressed in her crimson dress and dark green sash with matching heels and joined Sesshomaru for breakfast. They went first to Kagome's house where she received a book from her mother, that she hid from Sesshomaru instantly. Then they moved on to the Tashio house, where the family was waiting patiently for them to arrive.

Sesshomaru received a charm from Izayoi and one from Inumimi for his bracelet and a set of keys from InuTashio for the summer house in the country outside the city. Kagome got a anklet from Inumimi with a little white inu on it, a recipe book for inu from Izayoi, and a dress from InuTashio that matched Sesshomaru's eyes. She watched them open their gifts and they moved on to dinner.

"That was the best Christmas I've had in a long time." Kagome put her gifts on her bed and pulled the bag she had hidden in her room and looked at the door. Sesshomaru had gone into his room to get out of the suit and Kagome grinned to herself. She pulled on the white lingerie and then she wiggled into the red and white teddy ad covered herself with the large fluffy robe. She stepped into the hallway and knocked at his door.

"Yeah?" He opened the door in nothing but his night pants.

"I got you something else for Christmas, besides the tie." He raised an eyebrow as she entered his bedroom. Sesshomaru watched her look at the picture of her on his table and then to the bracelet still clasped on his wrist. "I just, I don't know how you'll feel about it." She lead him to the bed where she pressed his shoulder to get him to sit down. She lifted his hand up and wrapped his fingers around the tie of her robe. "Open it."

"You're my other present?" She nodded with a blush splashed over her cheeks. Sesshomaru pulled the tie, brushing it from her shoulders and letting it fall to the floor. He felt himself grow stiff at the sight of her in the teddy. His rough calloused palm ran up the outside of her thigh over her hip and ribs around the swell of her breast and hooked around her neck. Kagome had never been so nervous and turned on in her life, she let him pull her down and kiss her. She straddled him on the foot of the bed and wrapped her arms in his hair, coiling her hands into his hair and grinding against him.

"I want you to have me." She moaned into his mouth. "I wanted you since I first met you."

"Kagome." He pressed her down against his erection. "I love you."

"I love you too Sesshomaru."

******LEMON******

Kagome landed on the mattress as Sesshomaru rolled them over. He untied the teddy and pulled it off of her, admiring the white laced panties and bra waiting underneath. He explored her with his mouth, tasting her neck and collarbones, then lower to her ribs and the flat plains of her abdomen down to her supple thighs and calves. He nipped at her toes before working his way north once more covering her once more in kisses and nips. The miko arched under him wrapping her fingers into the covers on the bed.

Her lusty eyes watched him hook his fingers into the band of her panties and begin to drag them down her legs. He dropped them onto the floor and ran a hand up her spine until he reached the clasp of her bra. Kagome gasped as he bit at her nipple through the fabric, teasing it between his teeth before flicking the clasp open and peeling it from her body. Free of clothing he admired her for several long seconds before taking a perky pink nipple into his mouth and suckling. Kagome felt like she was coming apart at the seams, he hadn't even touched her between the legs and she was dripping.

It was a scent so strong even her human nose picked it up as he switched nipples. His large hands lifted her knees and pushed them open as he moved down the bed. He hooked one arm under her thigh and spread his hand over her abdomen as his other hand parted her lips. Sesshomaru's tongue slipped out and ran up her passage while his hand held her to the bed. She was locked to him, unable to grind or pull away as he lapped at her, his tongue entering her and dancing inside her.

"I'm dying." She moaned. "Oh Kami." She practically screamed as he began to remove his sleeping pants. His free hand wrapped around his shaft and he pumped himself as he tasted her. "Sesshomaru."

"Come for me." His tone was gravily and he stabbed his tongue into her passage suckling as it moved. Kagome tensed under his hand and around his tongue before something inside her snapped. She arched off the bed as her juices poured into his mouth, the muscles in her legs twitched and she shuttered as she came down her from orgasm. "You taste delicious." He kissed her hip bone as she recovered.

Kagome pulled him gently by his hair so she could kiss him, his tongue battle with her letting her taste herself. She leaned up and wrapped her hand around his erection, feeling the weight and heat of it in her palm. Sesshomaru watched her as she turned him and knelt between his legs at the foot of the bed. She kissed the tip, her tongue darting past her abused lips to circle it. She put her lips around the tip and sucked while her hand pumped him. She cupped his balls and massaged them as she took him into her mouth as far as she could.

Sesshomaru let his head roll back as she sucked his cock, he leaned back on his elbows as she pulled away with a wet pop sound. Her talented little tongue ran down the back of his shaft and she kissed at his sac, sucking gently as her hand continued to pump him. He couldn't take the torture any longer, he pulled from onto the bed and rolled himself on top of her in one liquid movement.

"I wasn't finished." She pouted.

"Later." He lifted her legs around his hips as he entered her. She moaned and tossed her head back into the pillows as she felt him fill her, it felt perfect, he was so thick she thought she would cleave in half. Sesshomaru pressed his forehead to hers as he rocked his hips back and forth into her, she was tight, impossibly so and he was losing his mind. She held onto his for dear life, her nails leaving crescent moons on his back. He kissed her, nipping her lower lip and sucking it into his mouth as she slowly went crazy below him.

Her hips jerked against his to increase friction and they spiraled toward the edge. Kagome arched off the bedding and her nails drew blood as white spots clouded her vision, she was unraveling at the seams, her world was ending. She let go.

Sesshomaru howled out as her walls snapped around his cock like a vice grip, fluttering tightly around him making him impossibly hard. He buried himself to the hilt inside her as he crashed over the edge into darkness. White flashed in his vision as his fangs sank into her skin and her blood coated his tongue.

Her legs wouldn't unlock from him, his shaft wouldn't leave her warmth, her nails still in his skin, his teeth still in hers. They melted into the bed, limp as overdone noodles, Sesshomaru pulled her against him and brushed her hair out of her face as she watched him. She smiled sheepishly at him and leaned forward to kiss him before cuddling into his embrace and sleeping. Sesshomaru lay away for some time, caressing her hair and upper arm before he too let sleep claim him.

******END LEMON******

Kagome began to wake, her world was foggy and sore as she opened her eyes to see Sesshomaru asleep under her, he had rolled onto his back during the night still holding her with one arm around her. Kagome scooted to the end of the bed where her robe had been left and pulled the collar from the pocket. She crawled up the bed and straddled his waist, feeling him wake beneath her. She slipped the collar around his neck and clicked it when his eyes opened.

"Ohayo sleepy head." She grinned from her vantage atop him. Sesshomaru reached up to touch her cheek before pulling her down onto the bed where he could dominate her small frame. He propped himself over her and looked down on her flushed face, he smiled at her and ran his thumb over her well abused lower lip. "Do you like your gift?"

"I love you." He pressed his lips down on hers. She chuckled when he pulled away and he cocked an eyebrow at her.

"This present." She tapped the tag on the collar making it jingle. Sesshomaru touched the leather and felt the tag with his index and thumb before narrowing his eyes at her.

"I might be a dog Kagome but this is…"

"I bought it because I know that you are a dog _demon_. But even still, I want you to know that you are mine and no one else is allowed to touch you." She blushed and looked away, modest even after their mating. "I will never go to anyone else, I'm yours. And you're mine. I don't share well with others."

"Neither do I, Kagome-koi." He kissed her forehead, then lips and he unclipped the collar and laid it on the table by his alarm clock. "Let's get cleaned up and eat. All that activity has left me famished." She pulled her robe on and lead the way to the bathroom. Sesshomaru caught her in the door frame and pulled her against his body, his breath fanned her cheek. "And not just for pancakes and bacon."

In the days between Christmas and New Year's Eve Kagome finished moving into the summer home with Sesshomaru, they sold the apartments and even got a few servants to keep the house tidy. They had many nights like their first but had yet to tell the families or friends about their mating. Kagome wanted to wait until after the New Year and after Sango got married to announce anything, and Sesshomaru agreed with some persuading.

Kagome opened the bottle of wine and poured two glasses as Sesshomaru came in from the garage. He kissed her cheek and went to set his briefcase on his desk in the office before collecting his wine and joining Kagome for dinner.

"So what did your father need your help with so urgently the day before New Year's Eve?" Kagome nibbled on her broccoli.

"His will, and the wills for both mothers." He sighed. "He demanded it be done before tomorrow." Sesshomaru shrugged and continued with his dinner. "So this is your last semester at Tokyo U?"

"Yeah, my professor already approved my thesis and I graduate in spring." Kagome puffed up in her seat. "And I already have a job at the Tokyo museum with a man named Totosai in the records room."

"Great." Sesshomaru smiled to her. "Have you heard anything about the wedding date for Sango?"

"Actually I just talked to her today, and they want to go to the courthouse and do a quick private wedding. I get it really, his family is dead and Sango's lives way up north and can't make the trip with their work."

"Indeed, are we going with them?"

"Of course. On the forth." A young sheep demoness collected the dishes as they headed for the living room. "She won't take the extra three hours off that I told her to take every night, can you talk to her?"

"Did she say why?" He wrapped an arm around her shoulders as the screen fired up.

"She said she can't leave until her duties are complete." Kagome sighed. "I can to dishes and cook for us. I want her to be on the train back for Tokyo before it's dark out, she has two kids."

"I'll talk with her for you." He kissed her temple.

Kagome woke up curled into Sesshomaru the next morning in nothing but the sheets over them. He had put the collar on when they went to lay down, she had a habit of using it to pull him in for kisses and to get him to move how she wanted during their passion filled nights. It was still on and she leaned in to suckle his throat to wake him up.

"Tease." He ground out.

"So?" She smiled up at him. "I like waking up before you, you look so adorable when you're asleep."

"I am anything but adorable Koi." He kissed her wrist and then leaned down and kissed her. He left her dazed and lusty-eyed as he went to get a shower. She put the collar on the end table and pulled herself out of bed as he came back from his shower.

The Tashio home was alive with music and laughter as businessmen and their families mingled with the aristocrats and political figures present. Kagome hugged Inumimi and Izayoi, noticing the look the inu gave her she hurried off to greet others at the party. Sesshomaru returned to her side with champagne.

"I think your mom could smell the mark." Kagome fingered the fabric of her dress covering the mark on her neck. The turtle neck dress was cream colored and had a crimson ribbon on the hip like a belt. He touched the small of her back as she sipped her champagne to comfort her.

"She won't say anything until she's sure, maybe we should avoid her for a while, and father. That blood hound will know in an instant and then we'll be in real trouble."

"Agreed." Kagome nodded.

"I'll know what?" InuTashio's voice had them turned instantly, he was smiling from ear to ear with his arms crossed over his chest. "Oh my child I knew the second you came over to finish those wills with me." He patted his son on the shoulder and hugged Kagome.

"Please we don't want to say anything yet."

"I won't spill your secret, it's yours to tell dear." He kissed her cheek and then stepped away. "But I can tell you that every demon here knows already, and Sesshomaru may I speak with you for a moment?"

"Will you be alright?" Kagome nodded and watched them walk away. "What father?"

"I know you two have been at it for a few days now, so you probably can't peel the layers of your scent off her to tell."

"Kagome." Sango hugged her friend at the bar in the main hall. The others joined them, chatting and laughing as Sesshomaru approached. He steered her from the cluster and into the kitchen where they were eerily alone in the loud house.

"Sesshomaru?" He took the glass from her hands and poured it down the sink next to her. "Hey I was drinking that!"

"Not anymore, no more tonight." He stated leaning down to kiss her. Kagome moaned as he lifted her up onto the counter and her legs wrapped around his waist. "No more for a while actually."

"What are you talking about?"

"Until you go to the doctor and have it confirmed I want you to keep away from the alcohol." He whispered into her ear.

"Everyone, can we have you in the main hall for an announcement?" InuTashio's voice boomed through the house. Kagome followed Sesshomaru through the house to the main hall where they stood with their friends as silence fell around them. "As some of you closer to the family know we have disowned InuYasha Tashio. He might have been a horrible man and a terrible son but he brought a light into our family that I am happy to say we have. Yesterday we had our will's changed and finalized. When we are gone all of our assets go to my son Sesshomaru and daughter Kagome." Everyone clapped as Sesshomaru steered her to the stairs to join the family.

"I hope that with the New Year our new family will grow and flourish, and that everyone here tonight is prosperous and happy just like we have been." They toasted as the clock chimed and the television flashed. Fireworks flashed over Tokyo in the distance and they were happy.

**I hope you guys like it, I know it's weird and it has a lot wrong with it but still.**

**I'll upload a second piece to this to finish it up, deal with InuYasha and Kikyo and with Kagome's late present.**

**Addy Eli**


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